


Strange Bedfellows

by StellarLibraryLady



Series: Star Trek Narsarya B [6]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: Into Darkness (Movie)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Humor, Angst and Romance, Bickering, Blow Job, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Humor, Injured Kirk, M/M, Missing Scene, Narsarya B, Narsarya B "Land of the Lotus Flower", Narsarya B (Star Trek Series), Star Trek Humor, Star Trek: Into Darkness Missing Scene, humor and angst, romance and angst, spones - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-09-02 12:05:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8666734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StellarLibraryLady/pseuds/StellarLibraryLady
Summary: Takes place immediately before and just after Jim Kirk awakens at the end of Star Trek: Into Darkness.Emotionally overwrought and physically depleted after watching Jim Kirk hover near death for days, McCoy and Spock cling to each other in relief and exhaustion after Kirk awakens.  Then Spock finds a unique way to thank McCoy for saving his friend.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Blood Connection](https://archiveofourown.org/works/811163) by [Firefly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firefly/pseuds/Firefly). 



> Spock and McCoy get better acquainted.

“Hey, Bones, got a minute?” Kirk asked as he ducked unceremoniously into McCoy’s office at his medical clinic on Narsarya B.

“I know what that means,” McCoy said with a smile as he closed the account file on his computer. “My work is over for the day.”

“Do you mind?”

“Hell, no. Pull up a chair. I welcome a break. Want anything to drink?”

“Have you ever seen me turn down a drink?”

“Hell, no,” McCoy repeated. “Is Kentucky bourbon okay with you?”

“Always has been, always will be. Who could argue with a whole state of Kentucky Colonels?”

“My sentiments, exactly. This was a fine import to the great state of Georgia. Those gentlemen knew fine whiskey, too,“ McCoy said as he handed Kirk the drink.

“Okay, while we’re on that subject, maybe you can clear something up for me.”

“What’s that, Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise?”

“You called this bourbon whiskey. Is it?”

McCoy gave Kirk a wise, flirty smile. “Any Southern gentleman who knows his sipping whiskey will tell you that all bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon. Does that help?“

“So, it’s like saying that all thumbs are fingers, but not all fingers are thumbs. Right?”

“Right! Now you‘ve got it!”

“Sure as hell wish I knew what I’ve got,” Kirk muttered.

McCoy laughed, then glanced at Kirk’s face “Well, is everyone getting settled in okay?”

“Yes,” Kirk answered as he accepted the drink. “Spock and I are mingling with the populace as we‘d planned and talking to experts and professionals here on Narsarya B. Khan is even getting interested in what we‘re doing.”

“I thought you said he’d probably go along with whatever we said for the welfare of his crew.”

“I did, but now he’s starting to realize that he can do something for himself without feeling that he’s neglecting his crew. I think that this experience is going to be good for him. He‘s never known what it was like to settle back and enjoy people and culture. Or, if he ever did have a chance to experience it, it‘s been so far back that he can‘t remember it. I‘m sure he was a normal person three hundred years ago, before someone started tampering with his body and turning him into something monstrous.”

“It was a good idea, I suppose, back then. But the full ramifications weren‘t dealt with beforehand.”

“How could they have been? Super humans had never been created before. Maybe they never should have been. But that‘s no reason to shuffle them off to a corner and tell them to die like some unwanted vermin.”

McCoy grinned. “So Crusading Kirk rides across the prairie to bring justice to the oppressed once more.”

“If you look real close at that crusader riding beside me, the one without the pointed ears, you might recognize the guy that looks back at you every morning in the mirror.”

“Yeah,” McCoy conceded with a sigh. “Show me a damn cause to fight for, and I‘m your man.”

“I know you are, Bones. And thanks. I know that‘s why I chose to bring Khan here. I knew you‘d be right beside me. You and Spock.”

McCoy sighed. “I never thought I‘d be sitting down socially with Khan Noonien Singh at my dinner table. Strange times bring strange bedfellows, that‘s for sure.” 

"Well, nobody's started sleeping together."

"Yet!"

"Hmm?"

"Yet, Captain Kirk. Yet! This planet paradise has a strange way of influencing people by letting their dreams come true. Sometimes, we shouldn't wish so hard for what we want, though. What we want might not always be what is best for us."

Kirk grinned. "Now, you're starting to sound like Spock."

"Please, Jim! And this conversation was going so well, too!"

"Just try to get along better with him. Okay? For my sake?"

"That's unfair!" McCoy pretended to bluster. "Now, you're playing the friendship card! That's pretty sneaky!"

"You know me, fair means or foul. Just so I win. And I so want to win with you, with Spock, and with Khan. I want great things for all of us, and I believe that we can get them if we just work hard! Together, we'll succeed!"

McCoy grinned fondly. "Ever the cockeyed optimist, aren't you? Hell, you know I'll help. Anyway I can."

"Hooray!" And Jim Kirk's grin was huge.

"And stop the damn crowing! You know you had me when you first turned those baby blues on me with that pleading look on your face and a penitent Khan in tow. It'd been like turning down Girl Scouts selling cookies or a great-grandmother wanting me to buy a Memorial Day poppy. I'm tough, but I defy anybody to be that tough or callous."

Jim Kirk's grin deepened, if that was possible.

"I'm just saying, we have to be careful with the Khan situation. Who knows where this all may end before we are finished?" 

“But it's nothing we can’t handle, Bones. The three of us, together.“

“Damn!“ McCoy said with a grin. “How can I argue against faith like that?!“

“Besides, you’re interested in the outcome, too.“ Kirk took another sip from his glass, then gave it an appreciative look. “That’s pretty good bourbon.”

“The best illusion that this planet can provide,” McCoy said with pride. “Now, what’s on your mind?”

“From the medical angle, how is Khan doing with his rehabilitation?” Kirk asked as he sat forward.

“He’s responding very well to treatment. I‘m surprised he‘s being so cooperative with us.“

“He’ll probably go along with whatever we propose for the welfare of his crew, if nothing else. But I‘d like him to get something good out of this for himself, too.”

“Have you ever figured out why it is so important to you?”

“It would be nice if the guy had some good experiences, for once in his life.“ Kirk grinned. “Beside, I feel like I owe him that much. There is that little business of his saving my life by giving me his blood.”

“I don‘t know if ‘giving‘ is exactly the right term for that procedure. I took it from him, and rather forcefully. Of course, he was in no shape to protest my rough handling. I was more concerned about keeping you alive than making Khan comfortable.”

“I understood that Spock about took Khan’s head off before he brought Khan back to you.”

“Spock was trying for it. And the only reason that he left anything at all to salvage is that Khan was your only chance for survival. It was kind of a love/hate relationship that Spock had for Khan at that moment. If it hadn‘t been for your need, Spock probably would have tossed Khan overboard. It would‘ve been worse for Khan, I think, if Spock had held onto him and kept pounding away at him. Spock sure lost his temper that day. That little bastard can sure get on a high horse when he gets pissed off, can‘t he?”

“Getting angry is one thing, but getting over being angry is another. I don‘t know how you managed to settle him down.”

“I didn’t. It was just his concern for you that kept him from busting up sickbay trying to get to Khan again. I thought his knuckles were broken by the time he got Khan back to the Enterprise. I didn‘t know which one to treat first: you, or Khan, or Spock. Yeah, I put Spock right up there with you and Khan. I had my reasons. You see, Spock was crying.”

Kirk frowned. “Crying?”

“Yeah. Tears were running down his face like he’d turned on a water tap. And he was trembling, either from the adrenaline rush or anger, I don’t know which. It could even have been fear, fear for you. As I say, I don’t know.”

“Helluva choice,” Kirk mumbled.

“I do know that I had to take a moment from you and Khan. I had to be a friend to Spock. I didn’t even realize I felt that way about him until that moment. I had to let him know that I understood what he was going through and that I was there for him. But the words wouldn‘t come out. So I went basic. I grabbed him in a fierce hug. He fought me for a second. ‘No!’ he pleaded. ‘Jim!’ But I held on, and then he grabbed me back. I felt him give way and cling to me. His hands were all over me, pleading through them. Then I felt him relax and sort of crumple against me. That shook me as nothing else could have. He’d always seemed so tough, so stalwart. I had no idea he could tremble in fear like that. Something broke loose in me, I don’t know what. Call it protectiveness. Call it compassion. Call it love. I don’t know which. Maybe it was all three. I just knew I would take on anybody or anything that wanted to harm this being that needed me as much as he needed me in that moment. The old mother hen broke out in me, I guess. Spock was so fragile, and he was mine to protect. And I intended to protect him.”

Kirk was looking at McCoy in awe. McCoy had never been able to express himself this openly before. It must be the influence from Narsarya B that had humanized him.

McCoy frowned. “But I knew, too, that I had to get to you. I squeezed Spock once, real hard, and muttered something reassuring, something stupid like I'd save you when nobody knew at that time if I could pull off that major miracle or not. I think I needed to tell the both of us that you had a chance to come back. Then I kissed his cheek real hard, and it must've felt like a fist plowing into his face. That startled the both of us, the intensity of that kiss that might cause bruising later on, for both of us. We stared dumbly at each other while the sounds of sickbay washed around us. I think we'd never seen each other plainer than we had in that moment. It was just him and me, no Starfleet, no bad guys, no James T. Kirk. Just us. And it kind of overwhelmed the both of us. I think that's the moment we both realized that we wanted to know more about the other guy, and there was no time better than the present to start. Then Uhura screamed your name in my ear, and that brought me out of it. I pushed Spock into Uhura’s arms and ran to you and Khan. The staff was preparing you both, and I worked like a maniac to get Khan‘s blood into you in time to save you.”

Kirk could see the toll it was taking on McCoy simply to relate the story. Going through the experience must have been horrendous.

“I kept seeing Uhura holding Spock up, and Spock gasping for breath, as if his primary concern was watching the operation. Breathing was secondary, but necessary. And he did it only because he had to maintain life for himself. But he wanted to concentrate on what I was doing, too. I didn’t have the heart to order him out, although he needed to get out of there for his own good. I think I needed him there with me. It’s crazy, but your crisis brought Spock and me closer together than we had ever been before.”

McCoy glanced at Jim, as if suddenly remembering that he was there. “At one point, though, I glanced at him and he looked like he was going to pass out. It was sheer grit keeping him going. I said, ’Spock, out!’ and I meant it. He wasn’t going to be any good to you if he passed out, and I sure as hell couldn’t have taken it if he had. I think that would’ve put me over the edge. Too many broken bodies of friends lying around, I suppose. I had to think of him, though. He needed to be out of there. So I told him to get out. But he looked up at me with those dying calf eyes of his. I swear if he’d said ’No!’ or anything challenging like that, he would’ve been out of there on his ass.”

McCoy smirked, remembering. “But he played dirty. He looked up and said to me ’Please’ in a voice as soft as that. And I folded.” McCoy shook his head in disbelief. “I could’ve taken anything, but that. I felt tears spring into my own eyes. I wanted to bawl. And I wanted to hug him again. I didn’t have time to do either, but I knew I’d feel better if I could just get my arms around him again. We both would’ve. I could feel the pull to be with him as I looked at him from across the room. I know he felt it, too. At least it gave me the shot of energy I needed to finish with you.“

“It sounds like Khan and I had the easy part of that day,” Kirk muttered.

“As soon as I could, I checked Spock out.” McCoy grinned. “Chapel had already done some down-home, old fashioned remedies on him. His hands were soaking in ice water and Chapel was spooning hot broth into him. Uhura had thrown a blanket over his shoulders and was rubbing his back. It was every man’s dream. Two beautiful women were clucking over him. And did it make any impression on him?” McCoy grinned again. “As the old song says, he only had eyes for me, or words of that nature.”

“He didn’t take advantage of the women fussing over him?”

“I don’t believe so. I finally got him to lie down only after I promised not to leave you and to tell him if there was any change in you. But that didn’t last long. Damned idiot hovered worse than a hovercraft over your bed for days, in spite of what I’d told him about his own resting and eating. I don’t know who was worse in that department, though. Him or me. But we didn’t want to miss seeing you wake up, or to be there if things with you suddenly went sour. If you weren‘t going to make it, we both wanted to make damned sure you didn‘t have to face that journey alone.” He bit his lips together, remembering. “Besides, we just couldn’t be anywhere else,“ McCoy said softly. "We just couldn't."

“Thanks,“ Kirk said sincerely. “I understand. I would’ve been the same way if it’d been one of you guys.“

“I know. So you know the situation with him and me watching you.“

“Yeah, I do now,“ Kirk mumbled.

“Tell me, what was the first thing you saw after you woke up? After you saw me near your bed, that is?”

“One cool looking Vulcan watching me.”

“With about a half dozen happy pills holding him together, thanks to me.”

“Wow!”

“Yeah. Uhura and Chapel were hovering nearby to catch him, though, if he decided to go ass over teakettle.”

Kirk shook his head in disbelief. "Ass over teakettle?"

"An old country expression. Something my father used to say. Just visualize that a teakettle is a man's business."

Kirk frowned. "Oh. I'll never look at teakettles the same again," he muttered. Then he brought himself out of his reverie. “And Spock? He let you drug him?” Kirk asked with equal amazement.

“It wasn’t a matter of letting. He couldn’t have held together much longer, otherwise. It was only by sheer effort and those pills, of course, that he was able to be there at all. It was certainly against my better judgment. But I knew he wasn‘t going to let anything stop him from being there, let alone me.”

“The little shrimp,” Kirk muttered in awe.

“Yeah, I figured he never let you in on that that little detail.”

“And after I went back to sleep?”

“The ladies stayed with you, and I took Spock to bed.”

Kirk gave him a lazy, flirty look. “And did what with him, Bones?”

“Jim! It was nothing like that!”

“Why not? One pill-happy alien? One relieved doctor? The women were there with me? Sounds like a sweet setup all the way around to me. I’d been happy with the ladies for company. You guys surely should’ve made yourselves happy. That situation with you two should‘ve kept a set of sheets scorching all night.”

“We were wrung out, emotionally and physically. I just grabbed his elbow in my fist and propelled him out of sickbay while Uhura and Chapel yelled something after us about both of us needing rest. I yelled back that I knew that, that I was going to take care of it, and that I didn‘t need any help from anybody to do just that. I found us a quiet, nearly dark room and led him to this little, narrow bed. By this time, he was about asleep on his feet, but that single bed registered with him. He looked up at me like he wanted to ask me about a hundred questions about this sudden development, but couldn’t quite get his mouth to working. I told him that I was going to lie down with him. That’s when he dropped his mouth open a mile in surprise.“

“No wonder,“ Kirk murmured. “Sorry to interrupt, Bones.“ He pulled his arms around himself and smiled in appreciation. “I’m loving this story! Go on. Please, do. I‘ll try not to interrupt, unless I‘m wanting more details, of course. Sometimes your stories get damned skimpy.“ He smiled deepened. “But, so far, this one is great!”

“I wouldn’t want to get you all hot and bothered, though.”

Kirk gave him a flirty look. “Reminiscent of our old Academy days when we were roommates and I would come in drunk or beaten up or both, and you copped a feel trying to help me?”

McCoy looked aghast. “I did not!”

“You did, too! Relax. If I wouldn’t have enjoyed it, I wouldn’t have let you get away with it. Besides, there were plenty of times when we both came in drunk and horny, and played a lot of handsy with each other. But probably the best were the times you just THOUGHT I was over the edge, and I wasn’t.” He smiled in remembrance. “Nah. I lie. The best were the times you were way worse off than I was. You didn’t mind anything I did. And then there were the other times when drinking really didn‘t need to be involved, just good feelings between two loving friends.“ His voice drifted off into happy remembrance, then he gave McCoy a flirty look. “Didn’t you ever wonder why we kept waking up together in just one bed?”

“You said you got cold! Or felt sick! Or got confused!”

“Not cold. Not sick. Certainly not confused.”

“I’ll be damned!”

“Probably. But hopefully not by what we did together. We were just young guys feeling our oats and liking our sex two hundred percent.”

“And now?”

“Any chance I get.”

“Still liking it two hundred percent?”

Kirk grinned in pleasure and pride. “Yep.”

McCoy grinned. “Good for you.” 

“Anyway, you got this drugged up Vulcan staring at you with his mouth open a mile because you’ve just more or less ordered him into a very narrow bed with you. I think I would’ve taken advantage of that opened mouth, by the way.”

“I wanted him to rest, damn it! Me, too. I wasn’t thinking of anything else at the moment.” He reconsidered. “Wait. I lie. That open mouth did look tempting, now that I think about it.”

“See?”

“Yeah,” McCoy conceded. “Now! Damned!” McCoy muttered, aside.

“Anyway, back to the story,” Kirk prompted.

McCoy turned back, lost opportunities forgotten like so many others. “Like I said, he looked stunned. But I gave him THE look so he’d know I meant business. When he complied and lay down, I crawled in behind him. There wasn’t a whole lot of room, but I figured we didn’t need that much, two skinny guys like us. I wrapped my arms around him, spooned him, and told him to shut up and go to sleep, although he hadn‘t said anything. I just knew I had to hug him, for both of our sake. I couldn’t wait a minute longer.“

“I could relate. I‘m starting to feel that need myself.“

McCoy glared at him with a look that said, Back off, you horny old goat. Get your own Vulcan. “Like I said, I started hugging him. It was like hugging a cedar log, though. He was that rigid. I just tightened my arms, hugged him a little closer, put my face against his neck, and let him feel my breath against his skin. I could tell he was crying again. I could feel tears running over my hands, but I didn’t let on. I expect some of my tears got his back wet. They were tears of joy and relief and exhaustion.“

McCoy frowned and stared at the pen in front of him as he played with it. “I told him that you were going to make it, and we weren’t going to lose you. I let him know that I wasn‘t going anywhere and that I would keep him safe from the world. I told him that the only thing in the world that was important to me for the moment was him and that we would see this thing through together. I told him I was going to protect him and he might as well get used to that fact. I babbled all kinds of stuff like that, and it felt like I was emptying my heart.”

McCoy grimaced and shoved the pen away. “It took awhile, but I eventually felt him relax, sigh, and snuggle back against me. It was like he couldn’t get close enough. I felt the same way. We scrunched around until there weren’t any empty spaces between us. We were welded together. We slept like that for hours. Nobody disturbed us. It was just him and me.”

Kirk gave him an appreciative look. “Still sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.”

“All we did was sleep!”

“Yeah, yeah, sure.”

“His hands were sore from pounding on Khan! Spock was nearly incapacitated. I would‘ve been taking advantage of him.”

Kirk winked. “Better yet. You could‘ve seen if you could‘ve gotten his mouth to drop open two miles.”

“Jim!“

Kirk was grinning all over himself. “Just saying. I think you missed an opportunity there.“

“That might’ve been too much, too fast. We’d been just crew mates the day before. Besides, he was still seeing Uhura.”

“And now you‘re here on Narsarya B, and he‘s on the Enterprise. Sounds like you and Spock just have your timing off. You keep missing each other.”

“What makes you think there was anything between Spock and me?”

“I didn’t say there was. I’m just saying that there should have been. You two are a natural.”

McCoy’s eyes glazed over in thought as he considered what Kirk said.

“Missing two hundred percent, Bones?” Kirk said softly.

“W-What?”

“It ain’t no sin, son. Not when it would be good for both of you.”

“I think representatives of any of the major Christian religions would really like to have a serious discussion with you!”

“Now, don’t get all your tail feathers ruffled. I’m just saying that I know a certain Vulcan who is unattached and in the immediate area. And it sure as hell sounds like some major ground work has already been done along those lines. It sounds like you got your foot in the door. Why don’t you see if you can get the rest of you inside? And I’m not necessarily meaning the door.”

“Randy old goat,” McCoy muttered. “Now isn’t the time for some of your famous matchmaking, Jim.“

“I understand that you and Spock are still cool toward each other, and that situation should change. You could at least be better friends. I don‘t mind being a buffer between the two of you, but I might not always be around.“

“Where in the hell do you think you’re going?! Don’t leave me with Spock! And Khan!”

“Nowhere, Dr. McCoy. I’ll be right here, where I should be. I’m just saying that now would be a good time to develop more of a friendship with Spock.”

McCoy shrugged. “We’ve both been busy. And you’ve added another player to our merry group of mischief makers with the addition of Khan. That kind of changes the complexion of the whole ballgame, Captain Kirk.” 

“I just don’t want my two best friends to be estranged. I don’t want you guys to drift apart. And if there would be the chance for something else….” He let his voice drift away in hopes that McCoy could eventually change the outcome of that story.

“It’ll be okay, Jim. Honest. Thanks for worrying, though. You’re a good friend.”

 

After Kirk left, McCoy settled back into his chair. Jim had stirred up an incident that McCoy had tried to forget. Now he just had to take that old memory through to its conclusion before he could push it aside again into its special niche.

He hadn’t intended recalling that past event, but seeing Spock again and then that conversation with Jim had brought everything thundering back.

McCoy hadn’t been entirely honest with Jim Kirk. Well, he had been as far as he had gone, he just had not told Jim the whole recollection of what had happened between Spock and him.

Well, to be completely honest, McCoy had lied through his teeth to Kirk.

True, he’d spooned Spock in the narrow bed, and they’d slept the sleep of the dead. Untrue, that they hadn’t done anything.

McCoy awoke, it could’ve been an hour, it could’ve been five hours since he‘d gone to sleep with Spock cradled in his arms, he had no way of knowing. But something was irritating his face, like a furry beastie crawling along his lips and cheeks. He tried to reach a hand out to wipe the irritant off his face and discovered that he couldn’t move either hand. They seemed to be incapable of any movement.

What the hell?!

McCoy opened his eyes and found that he was lying on his back with his hands firmly pinned above his head by one of Spock‘s hands. Spock himself was leaning over him and gently blowing his breath on McCoy’s face.

“What the hell?!” McCoy repeated out loud

“Hello, doctor. Have you slept well?”

“What the hell are you doing?!”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“So, talk!”

“I wanted your full attention.”

“You’ve got it! Now, what is so damned important that you have to wake me out of a sound sleep and pin me to the bed?!”

“I wanted to thank you for saving Jim’s life.”

“Some folks would just say ‘thanks, Doc.’ Or take me out to dinner. Or buy me some good scotch! I’m afraid I don’t recognize this form of gratitude. It must be something Vulcan. I just know my arms are starting to get needles in them from falling asleep. What’s the idea, anyway?”

“Just repeating what you did.”

“What the hell did I do to you that made you come up with this?!” McCoy roared.

“You grabbed me and kissed me.”

“We were scared for our friend. I know I was petrified. I needed reassurance. I thought that you needed reassurance, too. Sometimes the best way to do that is through touch. I don’t really know why I grabbed you. I just did. It was a gut instinct. Earthlings do that kind of thing when they get scared. I just needed to touch you, physically. So I hugged you. That‘s why God gave me arms.”

“And the kiss? Because your God gave you lips?”

“I’m not sure, myself. I think I just felt an outpouring of caring for you. You looked so lost, like I felt.”

“So it was nothing sexual?”

“Hell, no!” He frowned. “At least, I don’t think so.”

“When will you know?”

“For heaven’s sake, how should I be able to answer that when I don’t know myself?!”

“Perhaps this will help.”

And before McCoy quite knew what was coming at him, Spock’s mouth fell on his. That was the only way McCoy could describe it. Spock’s mouth fell on his.

McCoy didn’t quite know what to think. For a moment, all he was concerned about was breathing. The damn Vulcan was shutting off some of his oxygen supply with their faces squashed up together the way they were. Not saying, though, that on some level McCoy wasn‘t enjoying what they were presently doing. He still wasn’t absolutely clear on WHY they were presently doing it, though. 

But there comes a time when a guy just has to breathe, no matter what is going on. McCoy turned his head slightly to break the kiss and to gulp air or to protest, he didn’t care which. Both seemed like a feasible option. He managed to get two gulps of air. He found out a moment later that he’d been lucky to get that. The Vulcan took advantage of the opened mouth and plunged his tongue inside McCoy’s mouth.

Well, that put a whole different perspective on the proceedings.

McCoy whimpered in protest, then gradually quieted as he decided he wanted to concentrate on the marvelous sensations that foreign tongue was giving him. Not to mention, the marvelous sensations that the alien body draped so nicely on top of his were giving him. In fact, he found that he quite enjoyed the closeness of the lithe body pressing down on his so completely and so snugly. He’d never imagined that the ice-blooded alien could be so warm and cozy. He just wished he could put his arms around that marvelous body again and maybe do some hand pressing of his own. But the Vulcan’s hand continued to hold his tightly above his head.

McCoy particularly liked it when Spock squirmed around a little. That lit up all sorts of sensory overloads all over McCoy’s body. And thin layers of two Starfleet regulation uniforms did little to disguise the fact that Spock was all guy. McCoy figured that Spock was learning the same thing about him. But why did the damn Vulcan have to check him out so thoroughly? McCoy was regulation himself with standard equipment. Everything was in its right place, and operational. Whoops! Very operational. He was beginning to realize that the Vulcan might learn that obvious fact about McCoy’s body, too, if he didn’t stop that damn squirming around. That damn, DELICIOUS squirming around, that is.

“Is this agreeable, Doctor?” Spock asked, slightly out of breath when he finally broke the kiss.

“Very,” McCoy murmured back, way more out of breath than Spock was. “A unique form of payment, I must say. I thank you. I must recommend it to the medical board, but I doubt if it would ever pass,” he managed to add. He caught his wayward breath. “I thank you again. That was most, ah, instructive. Most impressive. I will certainly remember it, I assure you.”

“I am not finished thanking you. I thought we might need to breathe a little.”

“Oh. Oh, okay,” McCoy agreed and lifted his head to meet Spock’s opened mouth that was headed for his mouth again. Then those wonderful sensations shot through McCoy again. Damned better method of payment than insurance fees, McCoy decided. A doctor could get used to this, especially if the one paying the bill was as good a kisser as Spock was. Who would’ve thought?!

And then he became aware of Spock’s other hand. Spock apparently had discovered that it was free and had nothing to do, so Spock assigned it a job. It traveled across McCoy’s chest, deliberately touching McCoy’s sensitive nipples. What the hell was the damn Vulcan trying to accomplish now?! Prepayment of medical fees?! McCoy was going to need medical attention himself, after this!

Then the hand went away, and McCoy relaxed so he could concentrate on the delicious tongue kissing again.

Wrong! The hand was back! And it was now much lower and at McCoy’s waist!

McCoy grunted.

“Hush, Doctor,” Spock ordered, and the hand drifted downward across McCoy’s stomach. “Hush, now,” Spock ordered again as McCoy whimpered. “Try not to think about it.”

What?! Spock might not realize it, but the travels of that hand were becoming uppermost in McCoy’s mind. That hand was stirring up a whole lot of interest.

The hand lowered.

McCoy tensed and gasped.

“Hush, Doctor,” Spock murmured.

What the hell! Who could hush with a hand drifting downward over the lower stomach?! Headed south?!

McCoy whimpered. His favorite expletive came to mind, but he decided it was inadequate. Everything was inadequate in the wake of the path of that hand.

“Relax. Just relax,” Spock murmured.

Ditto, for relaxing! Double ditto!

The hand stopped just north of a very alert part of McCoy’s anatomy.

Spock pulled his face up and released McCoy‘s hands as he sat back on his heels. “Payment in full, Doctor,” Spock announced.

McCoy stared up at Spock’s shadowy form in the dim light. He could feel slobbers stringing down his chin. “That’s it?! Now you stop?!”

Spock shrugged. “You saved Jim’s life. You didn’t resurrect him.”

McCoy raised himself up on his elbows. “I beg to differ! He was clinically dead! I brought Kirk back to life!”

“Only your Christian God could do that. Jim‘s bodily processes were dim, but still there. Khan‘s blood really saved Jim. Are you considering Khan as a savior in your religion, also?”

“No!”

“But by using your own criteria, that would be the only logical conclusion that one could reach. Khan saved Jim, so Khan is your Christian God. Jim is here, is he not?”

”Forget Jim! He’s safe! He’s not needing resurrecting now! I am!”

“Are you certain?”

“Pretty damned sure! Maybe you can‘t tell because my trousers is holding it in. But I‘M pretty damned certain!”

“Really? I will check.” Spock glanced downward on McCoy, then shrugged in amazement. “You appear to be tumescent, Doctor.”

“What did you expect?! You crawled all over me and got closer to me than a second skin! Your tongue gouged around in my mouth and tried to reach my tonsils! Your hands checked out most of my standard equipment and sandpapered it to vibrate! You were quite thorough, Commander! All of my systems are on high alert and ready for liftoff!”

“Fascinating.“

“There’s a reason for that situation, you know! And it’s sitting there by my feet looking pretty mystified at the moment!“ 

“I seem to have stirred you, then.”

“Well, yeah!”

“It must be some time since you have had coitus, otherwise you would not have responded so easily.”

“I am a man! I can go into hyper drive in nothing flat! You should know that much from Anatomy 101! Or at least from experiences behind the dugout after the baseball game! Especially after winning!“

“We did not have baseball on Vulcan.“

“Figures.“ Then remembering, “And it’s none of your damned business when I last had sexual intercourse! For your information, though, I could’ve been in a screwing session an hour ago and still gotten steamed up with you pawing me the way you just did!”

“You appear to be correct, Doctor. Fascinating.” He studied McCoy’s situation. It hadn't lessened any. “I am impressed. You have no problem achieving and maintaining an erection then?”

“No! Only in getting rid of it!”

“Then I will have to determine how best to alleviate your present dire circumstances.” And without further discussion, Spock reached down and stripped McCoy of his binding trousers and briefs in one fluid movement.

McCoy never was certain exactly how Spock had managed that movement. He just knew that one moment he was clothed, and the next he wasn’t. He gasped as McCoy, Jr. leaped out with eagerness and waved up at Spock with a friendly, very robust greeting.

Damned that Spock! The little bastard could sure act fast when he finally decided, McCoy thought as cool air struck his fevered extremities. McCoy sucked in his breath from the coolness. Man, that felt good! But it didn’t solve his current problem, just made it more apparent.

“You are correct again, Doctor,” Spock remarked with clinical appreciation. “This condition needs to be addressed.”

McCoy just knew that he couldn’t live like this with an overwhelming need gripping his body and McCoy, Jr. waving like a damned flag at the head of a Fourth of July parade. As the old song says, something’s gotta give.

“Interesting specimen, indeed.”

“Well, something needs to be done!“ McCoy pulled himself up on his elbows and reached downward to tackle his aching condition. The next moment he found himself flat on his back with his hands pinned to his chest.

“Let me…loose!” he ordered as he tried to twist away, all the while knowing that he was in the Vulcan’s iron grip and that struggle was useless.

“I cannot allow you to perform that act of abuse upon yourself, Doctor.”

“Why the hell not?!”

“That would be damaging to your psyche.”

“Right now, I’m not interested in my damned psyche! Got it?!”

“I know you are not. That is why I must protect you.”

“You little bastard! There’s another part of me that’s in worse need right now than my damned psyche!”

“I realize that, Doctor.”

“Spock, you damned idiot! Do something! Don’t just sit there like it’s the first time you’ve ever seen a display like that! It isn’t an exhibit at a science fair for Junior High kids! This isn’t exactly comfortable, you know. Something has to be done, and fast! So, if you aren’t going to do something about my dire situation, at least let go of my hands so I can!” 

McCoy’s head suddenly flew backward and slammed hard against the bed. “A-g-g-h-h-h!” ripped from his stretched open mouth. His eyes glazed over and looked like they were set in death. His heart might even have stopped beating for a moment. McCoy didn't care. His attention was all riveted on something else, something that was very distracting to him.

Spock was doing something about McCoy's problem.

Spock had lowered his head and was doing something very nice and wonderful about McCoy‘s dire situation.

And Spock was doing it with his (gulp) mouth!

McCoy didn't care who he was, where he was, or what he was anymore. His whole universe centered around that hot, wet mouth with its gripping muscles, grazing teeth, and undulating throat and tongue. 

A few minutes later, Spock raised his head, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and asked, “Better?”

McCoy stared at him with dazed eyes. “Oh. Yeah.” He finally caught his breath and decided that his body hadn’t come unglued and wasn’t going to seep through the mattress, after all. McCoy had had doubts. “Must you do everything you’re asked so literally?”

“It did solve the problem, did it not?”

McCoy wiped a shaky hand across his sweating forehead. “Oh. Yeah.” Finally he frowned and looked at Spock. “How about you? Needing relief?”

“I used my other hand.”

McCoy closed his eyes and wished for death. “Clever bastard,” he murmured. “Good control. Three motions at once.”

“Lots of practice.”

McCoy opened his eyes and frowned at him. “Eh?”

Spock gave him a wicked look. “Doctor, must you know everything?”

“Well, yeah, you’re right,” McCoy said as he lay back and closed his eyes in exhaustion.

Spock pulled a sheet over McCoy. “You can rest now.”

“Spock. Thanks. For all of what you did. It was unnecessary, but thanks. I saved Jim because I like him, too. Not just because of you.”

“I know.” Spock stood.

“Where did you, ah, learn all that about, well, you know? Surely, not in books or off the computer.”

“Some. Some I learned from Nyota.” He smiled wickedly. “And some, I figured out on my own.”

“Well, good job.” McCoy yawned hugely. “Good powers of observation and deduction.”

“Thank you. I tried to be logical.“

“It was a great solution. Maybe not one I would’ve come up with, but great, nonetheless.“

“I’ll let you sleep some more. I think you can now.”

“Why?”

“You were whimpering in your sleep. Crying. I tried hugging you to quiet you. It wasn’t enough to reassure you. I decided to calm you.”

“You did. Damned good job.” He reached out and patted Spock’s shoulder. “I thank you.”

“I didn’t do it all because of you, Doctor.”

“Oh? Then, who?”

“Me.”

“What?!”

“I wanted to see if I could. And, I wanted to see if I liked it.”

“And?”

“I finished, didn’t I?”

“What do you mean?”

Spock headed for the door. “Have a good rest, Doctor.”

“You damned Vulcan! Get back in here and explain yourself! Would anyone had been alright for your experiment, or was it because I was the one you did it to?! Am I that special to you?! Spock! Answer me!”

But Spock had kept on walking.

Had he asked Spock just one question too many? Was that the one thing that Spock couldn’t, or wouldn’t, admit? Too bad, because that was the one thing that McCoy was dying to know. 

Was he that special to Spock?

Even now, as McCoy thought that experience over, he still didn’t know if Spock had wanted only him. How could he have explained all of that to Kirk? How could he have related that very intimate encounter to anyone, even Kirk? Some memories were just too precious to be shared.

And now, damn it, he wished he could share them with Spock.

**Author's Note:**

> This is an edited excerpt from "A Hooded Viper in Paradise" with some additional material added.  
> Now try reading the whole story! "A Hooded Viper in Paradise" and its sequel "The Dancing Head of the Cobra" tell the story of what happens when Jim Kirk is assigned to rehabilitate Khan Noonien Singh. He and Spock take Khan to Narsarya B where Bones McCoy and his lovely, but fractured wife Laura Kessler have a medical clinic and live a life reminiscent of 1930s America. What could possibly go wrong with this group, you ask. Well, find out for yourself! Happy reading!
> 
> I own nothing dealing with Star Trek, including story lines and/or characters.


End file.
